I've had QA/QC misgivings about the "amateur" autopilot code prior to launch, as it is common knowledge you can't reliably run a desktop printer on that unvetted stuff. I made my misgivings known and suggested that the code get some vetting, ginned up even if there was an expectation of being taken seriously, as this was aviation and all. Why all of the hate? Well, any Tom, Dick, or Haoran (浩然) could spike the code, man. On a side note, this might make for a plausible cover story for aspiring arsenal of democracy types who need to fine-tune the post-crash porno goggle optics.
Pre-3DR days, they found some hapless bastard who was gullible enough to cash in his retirement and develop an autopilot with all the bells and whistles, capable of flying 3000+ waypoints. I tried to caution the upstarts about their ambitious feature set by saying those capabilities will not be legal to use in the NAS for decades to come, if ever. Besides, we already had a robust, tried-and-tested U-Nav autopilot available for around $350. Not to be left out is the Procerus On-point autopilot, now in the AV Switchblade.
After blowing through a ton of money, the realization was that writing all the code and working out the bugs might be a bigger job than anticipated. It was time to lock out any Chinese upstarts by moving into free IP mode, AKA Do It Yourself Drone open-source autopilot code. There was a DIY effort to bully the U-Nav guy into releasing his proprietary code openly to the community. When Dave refused to give it away, he was mocked and pilloried into oblivion. Most of the folks who went along with it thought they were building a new community of like-minded folks with the lofty goal of drones for the common good. The goal was admirable until people figured out they had free coding jobs at 3DR.
The best-laid plans turned out to produce free IP that was only a 60% +/- solution, and some big guns were called in to sort out the slop. I think it was about that time it trickled down through the ranks of the DIY Droners that they were few rewards for the slave labor bulwark keeping the Chinese at bay. I’m getting a little ahead of myself here, but the historical is meant to give context.
I was clear that innovators would not be slowed down by vetting, as they had free work to do. I said that was folly too, as the "innovations" wouldn't be legally deployable in the NAS for decades to come, if ever. We could talk about the knock-off hardware that had better QA/QC than the genuine article. Rat turds and everything, but why even go there?
https://blog.codacy.com/coding-standards
Among the folks that really cozied up to open source as proselytizers was AUVSI. Were they trying to make up for their sUAS ARC rep taking a powder? I'm not going to blame Mike, as the sUAS ARC turned into a full-time gig real quick, and AUVSI wasn't going to pay for industry representation. I guess that money may have already had an earmark for the Chapter President Golf Retreat or new clown shoes for executive "leadership?"
However, the AUVSI decided to make good on its commitment and run a story in its now-defunct magazine about the amateur DIY Drones visionary and not yet, but soon-to-be CEO of 3DRobotics. Not only that, but "leadership" at the world's largest drone advocacy group also thought it would be a great idea to showcase the same Silicon Valley visionary so he could share his magic fantasy story at their tradeshow, and mainly for the benefit of the established aviation community.
Your humble author told AUVSI "leadership" that it was poor timing, as the draft recommendations were not complete for the sUAS ARC. Any fair-minded person knew the manned aviation people were'nt going to dig the fairytale he was selling. My suggestion was to hold the story and delay the presentation, but the $350 in advertising was sold to go with the expose, and the session was booked.
The FAA, UAPO, ALPA, AOPA, HAI, and SUAS ARC reps all had front-row seats to the spectacle. The reactions were choice with superlative commentary along the lines of, "This guy is fucking crazy!" That shit will never happen!" "Not in my airspace!" And who was left to clean up after the circus parade? Fred Marks, FMA Direct CEO, whom they tried to get rid of, and yours truly. The on-again, off-again AMA at that point in time wanted nothing to do with drones. Did that blunder add a few decades to the airspace integration rulemaking process?
@TheDroneDealer on X